


Happy Together

by nuitnoire



Category: Roswell - Fandom, Roswell New Mexico - Fandom
Genre: Bad Parent Jesse Manes, Bad Parenting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Dates, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Injury Recovery, M/M, Major Character Injury, Not Beta Read, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Build, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2019-12-18 03:01:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18241049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nuitnoire/pseuds/nuitnoire
Summary: Takes place after episode 1x09, Alex and Michael reconnect and start to see where a relationship might take them. Along the way, Alex gets shot and Michael doesn't know how to handle it and loses control of his powers.*I'm very bad at summaries! So I apologize!





	1. Friends

After Alex left, Michael sat down by the fireplace to mull over everything that Alex had just said. There was so much to process, the main thing was he wanted to be friends. He laughed, friends, that was better than nothing and who knows maybe they could have a conversation without ending in a fight. But, Alex had loved him, past tense. Why did he have to bring it up-- maybe he knew that it would shut him up. Michael had been waiting for years to hear those words from Alex but not like this. Somehow this was worse than ever hearing it at all. And Maria’s necklace. He shook his head and placed his head in his hand thinking about why that stupid necklace had to end up in his shoe; how did he not notice it until the moment Alex arrive. At least Alex hadn't walked away, no worse, he wanted to talk and get to know each other. What if after everything that this, his big secret, would make Alex hate him. Even worse, he would walk away or tell his _dad_. When Michael finally snapped out of his thoughts, the fire was dwindling and the day had turned to night. He grabbed his phone to check the time and see how long he had just been sitting there. He heard the soft purr of an engine knowing it was Max before he even stepped out of his car.  
  
“What can I do for you, Max?” He said without taking his eyes off the flames. Max’s hands were in his pocket and he was looking at his feet. He slowly walked up to the pit and stood in front of one of the chairs. Michael nodded his head and Max took a seat.   
  
“I just wanted to stop by to uh, talk to you about something,” Max said and cleared his throat. “Liz has a theory, she thinks there’s a fourth alien.”   
  
“A fourth alien. Good, that’s just great.” Michael says and grabs a beer bottle that was next to his chair. He slowly sips his beer and sets the bottle back down. He shakes his head and looks back at Max.   
  
“We know we didn’t come here alone. We know there were others that didn’t have pods.” He says. “Maybe you were right all those years ago, maybe it wasn’t Isobel who killed Rosa.” Michael took all the information in. Max shifted a little and made a small, almost unnoticed face shift.     
  
“There’s something else,” Michael said and leans in closer to Max, putting his elbows on his knees. Michael gives Max another once over and confirms his suspicions, Max was being fidgety and weird.   
  
“No, that’s it,” Max said with a little influx in his voice and Michael’s eyebrow raised up.   
  
“No, no, no. There’s something you aren’t telling me. Your face does this thing when you’re hiding something.”   
  
“It’s nothing man, it’s not important,” Max said but Michael sat back and waited for him to tell him the truth. They sat in silence for a few minutes, he could do this all night he thought. Max broke out a smile, “Fine. Alright, Liz and I, we kissed.”   
  
“Wow, virgin isn’t a virgin no more.” Michael laughed out and Max let out a soft “hey” before Michael could finish. “I’m just joking! I’m happy for you.” He says and looks down at his scarred hand. “I’m really happy for both of you,” and tries to crack a small smile.   
  
“Thanks, man,” he says while smiling. “I just wish Isobel was here, then everything would be perfect. You know?” Michael nods, perfect, he thinks, there’s no such thing. “What about Alex? I saw him at the bar the other night. Anything happen there?” Max inquires.     
  
“He wants to be friends,” Michael says solemnly. “He knows. About me maybe even about us.” He says without looking at Michael. He hears Max start to talk but he cuts him off. “I don’t know how but I’m going to tell him.”   
  
“Okay.” Is the only thing Max says.   
  
“Okay? That’s all.” says Michael “What happened to ‘we don’t get to have lives, Michael,’” he thinks back to that conversation. “Or, we need to keep each other safe, Michael.”   
  
“I told Liz and I have no right to stop you. Besides, it sounds like he already knows, no point in lying about it now.”   
  
“I’m just…” He stops and thinks about what he was going to say next, “Liz accepted you and she’s not scared. What if Alex decides after he hears everything and he doesn’t want anything to do with me.”   
  
“That might always be the case Michael but it might not, you’ll never know if you don’t risk it. I don’t know Alex as well as you do but you both care for each other.” Michael took everything into consideration. “Goodnight Michael,” Max says and walks away toward his car. He knew it was going to be a restless night. Michael watched as Max drove away and he was left all alone again. Michael stood up and walked into the airstream, everything was just how it was this morning but it felt all different.

Michael started to take his clothes off and started to get ready for bed. Michael took two steps to get to his kitchen and brush his teeth. Once he finished, he laid down in and tried to sleep but the mattress felt like a lump of rocks. As Michael tried to go to sleep he kept playing different conversations that he was going to have with Alex. Every different conversation in his head always ended with Alex putting handcuffs of Michael, did Alex even carry handcuffs on him? It took hours but Michael eventually fell asleep thinking about Alex, just like every other night since he returned. 


	2. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex goes to visit Michael and he learns "the truth."

Alex woke up earlier than normal feeling his heart beating against his chest. He looked outside his window, it was still dark and the birds weren’t even chirping yet. Alex laid back down to think for a moment about his day's plan but all he could think about was seeing Michael. With his father gone, he felt more open and free than ever before and an actual relationship with Guerin seemed possible. At the moment, anything felt possible for Alex as the heavyweight he had been carrying had been lifted from his shoulders. Alex proceeded with his morning routine, making coffee and eggs than getting dressed. Once he finished, he sat down to read the news and get mentally prepared for physical therapy to kick his ass. 

Physical therapy is one of the only places Alex doesn't like to go; it reminds too much of what he lost. His physical therapist, Jessica, also annoyed him just a little bit. She was always trying to motivate him but in a condescending way. She was always happy— annoyingly happy even when he swore and broke down she still had her robotic smile. More than anything, it was that smile that set Alex off, it just seemed so fake. Just like most days, he arrived at the hospital 30 minutes early and did some of his own therapy in the quiet. After physical therapy, Alex took a short shower, changed and started to make his way towards the junkyard. Though, this process was delayed as he changed four times checking his outfit, his hair, and his breath. He felt like he was seventeen again, the butterflies coming to the surface, the chance of vomiting everywhere. 

The drive from his cabin to the junkyard was rather long, it was on the opposite side of town. The only advantage of the long ride was that it gave Alex time to think about what he was going to say to Michael but his mind kept coming up blank. Driving had been a lot different since he lost part of his leg, it didn’t feel as natural. With most aspects of his life since he lost part of his leg, it just became harder, another obstacle he had to go through. Alex had enjoyed driving though, rolling down the windows, letting the wind flow naturally through his hair. He remembered when he was a teen and he would take drives all around Roswell because there was nothing better to do than drive. 

Alex slows down when he’s a block away from the junkyard stomaching the nerve to have an actual conversation with Guerin, to see his face, knowing what they’re going to talk about. He slowly rolls into the junkyard and sees Guerin sitting by the pit with no fire just waiting, probably for him. He puts his car into park, takes a breath, and walks outs. Alex can feel how his breathing has quickened when Michael locks eyes with him. Just like when they were teens, Michaels’ eyes glisten when he looks into them, making him feel weak around the knees. Today they looked more red around the eyes liked he was crying or tired. He had small bags around his eyes and there was a smell of coffee filtering through the air. If Alex were to capture Michaels' lips he bet that they would taste of a mixture of coffee and sex. Alex stopped himself before his thoughts were lost to him, and he walked over to the closest chair he could see. It was old, off-green and opposite of Michael, best keep his distance during the midday. 

“Do you want some coffee?” Michael's voice breaks through the silence. Definitely tired, his voice sounds soft but rough. 

“Yeah, that would be great,” he says and takes a seat in the old chair and accepted the cup of coffee that Guerin handed him. He took a small sip, dark roast as he expected, somethings never change. They both sat in silence, neither of them wanted to start to the conversations, maybe they just didn’t know how. 

“So, uh, I guess we haven’t done this a while, huh?” Alex says and Michael looks up at him a little confused. “You know, properly talk. It’s usually clothes off first, fight later,” he shouldn’t have added that last bit at the end. Why did he have to say that! He saw Michael smile a bit but it wasn’t a happy smile, he knew it was one of those smiles that he was trying to hide behind his pain. 

“I guess,” is all Michael says and takes one more sip of coffee before he sets down his cup. “What do you want to know?” he looks at him with a small glint of fear in his eye. 

“I want to get to know you, Guerin. Like I said yesterday, I want us to actually talk. We could start from the beginning? Like all stories do,” 

“Well, Isobel, Max, and I came in pods in the 1947 crash. We woke up and went to the orphanage and the rest is history,” Michael says really quickly. 

“Slow down, Guerin. Let’s not do the SparkNotes version,” Alex says with a slight smile trying to ease the tension. He swears he could hear Michael mimicking him under his breath but just chose to ignore it. “Pods? Like something about of a Sci-fi movie? 

“Yeah, okay," Michael releases a small sigh, "I just never talked, really talked about it this stuff,” Michael confesses. He looks down at his hands and takes a very deep breath and starts again. “I don’t know where we come from, Isobel, Max, and I, the first thing we remember is coming out of the pods when were seven. The 1947 UFO crash was real but I guess you already knew that by now. We came with others, from wherever we came from, and they hid our pods in a nearby cave.” 

“What do the pods look like?” Alex asks him genuinely curious. 

“I can show you sometime. They’re, uh, opal-ish I guess and they shine. It’s hard to describe but they feel like a part of me. I always feel calm when I’m around my pod,” Alex could see a glimmer of pride as he was talking. “We didn’t know anything so we just walked, you’ve heard the rumors,” Michael continues his story. 

“Do you remember anything from that time? Besides walking?” Alex looks at him knowing this part of the story was hard for him. 

“Not much, I remember feeling scared and vulnerable. The thing that’s most is clear is the day when the Evans came and adopted Isobel and Max. I started to walk away with them but one of the social works said I wasn’t adopted with them. I didn’t understand until later. We just assumed that Max and Isobel were twins, they have this weird psychic connection with each other but I didn’t. I mean I do, but it’s not as strong as it is with the two them. If that makes sense?” Alex nodded his head and stayed silent. “I was put into the foster system and moved around from family to family.” Michael started to get quieter as he spoke. 

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, I understand.” Alex said trying to make eye contact with Michael but he was purposely avoiding him.

“No, I just need to get through everything. Max, Isobel, and I still hung around each other as often as we could. I would sneak away as much as possible. The Evans didn’t like it though, they thought I was a bad influence on Max and Isobel. The older we grew the harder it got though. I started just going to Foster Ranch to be alone and look up at the stars. I thought if I went there enough, someone would come to get me but that never happened. We knew we were from somewhere else when we all started to show signs of...abilities. I could move things with my mind, Max did stuff with electricity, and Isobel could mess with people’s thoughts. All just party tricks.”

“C-Could you show me?” Alex slowly asks not knowing if it was appropriate. Michael starts to laugh. 

“Yeah, I can show you,” Michael says and starts to narrow his eyes on Alex. From his hands, Alex could feel his coffee cup start to move from his hands. The cup started to float and then make it’s way over to Michael. He reaches out for the glass and grabs it, he proceeds to take a sip from it. “No need to waste good coffee.” 

“You call that good?” Alex injects without even thinking. 

“I’m sorry I don’t have as high of standards as you, soldier,” Michael smiles as the tension starts to lighten. 

“So what happened next?” Alex says getting back onto topic and Michael rolls his eyes. 

“I started to collect items from the crash. I started to dig at first but it was hard to remember where I had dug and if it was actually effective. I did find a few pieces of the ship but nothing too big. I stole from the emporium, only the legit stuff though. It took me quite a bit to get everything that I needed from there but I did. The other pieces I found on the dark web,” Alex gives Michael a look that he just brushes off. “Nothing much else has happened, until Rosa death.” Michael tries to get in that last part without Alex noticing. 

“I know about Rosa,” Alex says and Michael looks up surprised.

“You do? How?” Michael looks up at him suspiciously. 

“I’ve been doing some investigation of my own, but we can get back to that later,” Alex says trying not to get off topic. “Where do keep all of your stolen goods?” Alex asks. 

“Here,” Michael stands up and walks in front of the door of the Airstream. “Come on,” Michael says looking at Alex. So, Alex stands and walks over to Michael and looks around wondering where he hid his items. Before he could find out, the Airstream moves back about four feet and he can see a small circular door, almost like a sewer drain. He watches as Michael concentrates on the door he hears a small click of the latch and the door swings open. Alex looks down the hole and sees the long stairs, why did it have to be stairs. He thinks back to his own bunker, what’s with Roswell and bunkers? Michael starts to descend down the stairs and Alex watches him. Alex doesn’t move but instead watches Michael. Micahel stops and looks up, forgetting about Alex’s leg. “I can, uh, help you if needed?” 

“No, it’s okay, it’ll just take me longer,” he says with some annoyance in his voice. First physical therapy now vertical stairs, what’s next a marathon? Alex takes one more look at the stairs and starts to go down. With each step, Alex could feel his prosthetic chafing against his knee knowing it was going to hurt later that night. When he was closer to the bottom, Michael extends out his hand to help him. Alex takes it and steps onto the concrete floor. “Thanks,” Alex says. 

“No problem,” Michael says and slowly releases Alex’s hand. Alex starts to walk around looking at everything in the bunker. He could feel Michael’s eyes following him as he was examining everything.

“If anyone is going to destroy me, it might as well be you,” Michael replied all serious. Alex forgot how much of a drama queen Michael could be. Alex didn’t really have anything to reply to Michael so he just nodded his head. He looked closer at the pieces of paper on the middle table trying to make out what all the science was. Just by looking around he could tell he was trying to rebuild his ship. He watched as Michael moved a glass piece, similar to the one he had, from the table to the broken ship. He placed it down like a piece of a puzzle, Alex could see where the piece he had belonged but decided, for now, he wasn’t going to tell Michael. 

****

****

“You're rebuilding your ship,” Alex whispered out not realizing how sad he sounded. He didn’t mean too, he just couldn't’ imagine not having Michael around.

“Yeah, I’ve been working on it as long as I can remember,” Michael says looking at the ship as an extension of himself. He looked down at his hands and then to Alex. Alex could tell Michael was trying to figure out what Alex was thinking. “This has been my safe place, no one’s been here for years and now in the span of a few weeks you and Liz have invaded it,” Michael says. 

“Liz was in here?" Alex let that slip without, hearing the sting of jealousy in his voice. 

"Yeah, we’ve been working together trying to help Isobel,” Michael says looking back at his hands. Isobel, what's wrong with Isobel Alex thought. 

“There’s more you’re not telling me,” Alex says feeling a little angry not really knowing why. 

“I just...I,” Michael is trying to find the words but nothing comes out. Alex looks around quickly and finds a stool by the entrance and clears off the junk. He pulls toward the middle table and takes as a seat. 

“Why don’t we call this a judgment-free zone,” Alex says and Michael just looks at him. He can tell he doesn’t really feel comfortable. “It might good to talk about it?” Michael thinks it over and he can see that he agrees. 

“Isobel, she’s been blacking out, since she was a kid,” Michael confesses. “At first, we thought it was stress but Max and I, we don’t really know what causes the blackouts. The first time it happened was on our birthday. We were out in the desert playing cards and Iz went to go to the bathroom. We heard her screaming and Max and I went to check on her and there was someone holding her by her throat," Michael was talking very fast. Alex didn't know if it was because of fear or something else. "He pulled out a knife and before I knew it Max ran up to him. We-we didn’t know what our powers could do and Max’s hands just started to glow red for a brief second and the guy, he died. After that day, things changed between us," Michael took an exaggerated breath like he hadn't been breathing. "Isobel changed after that day, she was more closed off, she tried to be more 'normal,'" Michael said in air quotes, "I mean she tried to be more human. During high school, Isobel starting acting weird more often. She would be herself one day and then the next it was like she was someone else. The day this happened,” Michael looked down at his hand, “was the day Rosa died.” 

“I know,” Alex says feeling the guilt wash over his body looking at Michael’s hand. 

“I was there,” Michael whispers “I saw her just before she died. It was the worst day of my life.” 

“What happened? I know she didn’t die from a car accident,” Alex says. 

“I’m not exactly sure what happened but after I left the toolshed I got this, sort of like a vision, of Isobel. It was different from how we normally communicate, it was urgent and it hurt. It felt like a couldn't breathe. I knew she was in trouble so I drove out to where she was. I don't know how the other girls had gotten there but they were all near where the pods are kept. The first thing I saw when I got there were the two girls lying on the ground, I checked for a pulse but they were dead. I went into the cave and Isobel was holding Rosa with her hand over the mouth. Rosa was alive and then the next second she was dead. Isobel did something but what she did I still don't know, Isobel doesn't have powers like that. Everything happened in slow motion, you know like in the movies, Rosa dropped to the ground and Isobel just looked at me. But she wasn't looking at me, she was looking through me. It didn't feel like Isobel though, her eyes were different and then she just passed out. Max arrived seconds after, he tried so hard to revive Rosa but it didn’t work. When Isobel woke up she didn’t remember what had happened, she didn’t know how she got to the cave and started to freak so I told her I killed those girls and Rosa.” Alex could see the tears developing in his eyes and slowly fall down his cheek. “So, we staged the car accident,” Michael said crying as he was talking “to hide our secret and to keep Isobel safe,” Michael wiped the tears and snot from his face. “I stayed to keep an eye on Isobel, she didn’t have another blackout after that day until this year. Max and I, we stopped talking, stopped being friends, and Isobel for awhile couldn’t look at without seeing them. But I couldn’t tell so I let her believe the worst in me.” 

“You...you covered up their murders?” Alex said, thinking about the funeral and how Rosa was perceived by the town. “Isobel...Isobel wouldn’t do something like that.” 

“I know,” Michael whispered, “But she did.” He looked so lost and confused. He was so small Alex thought, he reminded him of a child. Alex was thinking through everything Michael had just told him and didn’t realize how silent the atmosphere and just gotten. “Alex?” Michael said, “say something.” 

“I just...there is just so much,” he could feel the information starting to weight down on his chest. He didn’t want to leave but he needed some time to sort through all the information. “Is that everything?” Alex was scared to hear the answer. 

“No--” Michael starts to talk but Alex cuts him off. 

“Why don’t we save it for later,” he didn’t mean for it to sound as rude as it did but the thought of hearing more just sounded daunting. Maybe he was being a little bit selfish but he just some time to process. “Guerin..” Alex started and he could see Michael physically building his walls back up. “Why don’t you come by my cabin tomorrow? We can finish everything then and I can show you some of the things that I found,” Alex says “I just need a little to think over everything,” Alex said trying to see Michael's expression. 

“Yeah,” Michael agrees. Alex can feel the relief going through Michael. Alex stands and starts to walk toward the stairs. “Wait, Alex, do you hate me?” Michael whispered. For the second time that day, Michael looked and sounded like a child. 

“No,” Alex said and he could hear Michael breathe out, “I could never hate you,” Alex said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that Alex left Michael in the bunker and he started to go up the stairs. Alex made his way to his car and turned on the ignition. Once he was a reasonable distance away, Alex could feel the tears fall from his eyes. His vision started to get cloudy, so he pulled over and let himself cry in the middle of the desert. After a while, Alex couldn't feel any more tears, so he continued to drive back to his cabin to start to process everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's all excited for the episode tonight? Cause I am!! I know this isn't how it's going to go but it's how it's going to go in my story. I know there's going to be drama in the show but who wants that? Thanks for reading and I'll have the next chapter up tomorrow! I'd love to hear thoughts so far!


	3. Fries and Milkshakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael goes over to Alex's cabin to talk and they spend some quality time together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be posted a few days ago but I got into a car accident and wrote this kind of in shock. So I apologize for the grammatical errors and I'll probably fix it tomorrow!

Michael sleeps better than normal, at least better than he has in the past few years without the aid of alcohol or acetone. The prospect of going over to Alex’s cabin fueled Michael to sleep and littered his dreams with a world of possibilities for their future. Michael has never told anyone but all he had ever wanted was a person to share his life with, to know every stupid mundane detail about. It used to keep him up at night thinking about if he’d ever find some semblance of love; then Alex came into his life. Michael dreamed of other things on the rare occasion, what-if type scenarios, but he always dismissed those dreams immediately as they made him remember much of what he lost the day in the tool shed. Recently, Michael’s dreams had regressed back to his old nightmares; being taken away from the ones that he loves and locked away. It haunts Michael’s to think that his nightmare from when he was 8 could still be his nightmare 20 years later. Michael hates morning, more so hates getting out of bed, but on this cold morning day, Michael is out of bed and ready to go in record time. Alex had texted him yesterday telling him to come over anytime after 10 AM which meant that even though Michael wanted to be there exactly at 10 AM he would arrive at 10:30-11 AM so he didn’t look desperate. 

The moment Michael opens the door to the airstream the sun dominates his entire face making his eyes squint. He turns back around and scrummages through his collection of items on the floor until he finds his black cowboy hat. The cool morning breeze rolls by as Michael makes his way to his truck with an extra skip in his step. Michael decides instead of going Alex’s straight away he would stop at the Crashdown Cafe and grab some food for Alex and himself. The familiar drive from the junkyard to town felt like it only took Michael a few short minutes while every other task that he did felt like hours. Checking the radio clock, Michael turns off the engine and walks into the Crashdown Cafe. There aren’t many people in the cafe, a few regulars drinking some coffee or eating breakfast but no one too crazy at this time of day. He could smell the fried food as he made his way to the counter. For a brief second, Michael was sitting at a booth with Max and Isobel laughing at nothing and eating fries. Then he blinked and he was standing alone. 

“This isn’t your normal hangout?” He hears Liz say before actually seeing her. She walks out from the kitchen and towards Michael. She's wearing the normal, blue dress with the white apron and white headpiece. “What can I get you?” she smiles. Ever since working with Liz, they had sorta been getting along and if Michael didn’t know better he would actually call her a friend. Michael takes a seat at the counter and puts his elbows up on the counter. 

“Could I get two milkshakes and two orders of fries to-go, please?” He says and Liz starts to write on the pad of paper.

“Bringing these over to Max?” She asked curiously. Michael smiled forgetting that Max and Liz had kissed the other day. He could see the spark of innocence fly across her face reminding him of how she was ten years ago. 

“Fortunately for myself, I will not be greeted by my dear brother’s presence,” Michael says “No, these are a peace offering.” Liz nods and doesn’t press into the matter any further and Michael is grateful. After about ten minutes Liz comes back with a bag and a drink tray with two milkshakes on them. 

“Here you go!” Liz says placing the food on the counter in front of Michael. He can feel the heat resonating from the white paper bag and can smell the fries through the thin wall of paper. He eyes the shake and forgot how childish they looked, bearing a neon green color and a cherry on top. “I’ll see you around the lab!” She says but before he can really respond a small group of people walks in and Liz walks over to greet them. Michael just absently waves hoping she sees him and walks out of the cafe back to his truck. Once he finishes carefully setting down the food, he puts the car in drive and heads out. Michael follows the direction that Alex had texted him to the dot but still ended up taking the wrong street and getting lost. Back roads and woods are not Michael's forte but give him a chemical or physics equation and he could solve in minutes. By the time he finally managed to get to the right cabin the fries had long been cold. Michael slowly brings his car to a rest hearing the small squeal of his brake pads remembering that he forgot to change them yesterday. He steps out and grabs the food with him and slowly walks up to the front door. He tries to take in everything around him, the trees, the old cabin, the front porch, etc. trying to get a sense of Alex's life out in the middle of nowhere. He gets to the front door and puts the bag of fries under his arm and knocks on the door. 

“Come in,” he hears Alex say from inside and Michael walks in. The cabin is almost exactly how he expected to be like. It was small, surrounded by softwood and books. In front of Michael is a small, rectangular coffee table and a couch accompanied with two leather chairs. Michael sees Alex in the kitchen or dining room, it’s too small for Michael to really differentiate, reading a book. 

“I thought you might like milkshakes and fries. I didn’t realize this place would be so difficult to find, the fries kind of got cold,” Michael says making his way over to Alex. He lightly puts the food and shakes on the kitchen counter and turns to look at Alex. He was wearing dark jeans and plain maroon button up with a white shirt underneath. Michael could tell that he had recently showered as his hair wasn’t styled and could still smell the remnants of his shampoo. He liked it when Alex didn't style his hair, it flowed with the wind and made him look younger. “I didn’t know you had a cabin,” Michael says as he grabs two plates and brings them to the table with the milkshakes. He watches as Alex pours the fries out and opens the lid of the milkshake to dip it in. 

“It wasn’t technically mine, it’s Jim Valenti’s. He left to me when he passed,” Alex says. Michael knows Alex, he loves to give short answers that are to the point. So Michael thought this was all he going to hear about the cabin issue but Alex continued to Michael’s surprise. “My father and Jim used to bring Kyle and me here. We would hang out together while they went out hunting. I used to come here sometimes as a teen if things got really, really bad.” 

“It suits you,” Michael says while trying to gesture the cabin. Alex smiles and continues to eat his fries. Michael knew Alex was going to start talking about yesterday, it was his nature. Alex and Michael finished the fries and shake and both decided to moved a few feet over to the living area. Michael took a seat on a leather chair by the door while Alex sat down on his couch. “So,” Michael starts.

“So,” Alex responds in kind. 

“How did you know about me?” Michael starts the conversation. He was burning to know how Alex had put the pieces of his life together. He thought he had done a decent job keeping his family secret. 

“Massive government conspiracy,” Alex replies stalely and Michael smiles thinking Alex was joking but realized he wasn’t. He feels his smile fall and a pit in his stomach grow. Great, he thinks. Just what he needs the government on his tail. 

“Wh-what are you talking about?” Michael staggers through his words. 

“I’ve been following my dad these past few weeks, trying to find what he’s been up too. He’s always been suspicious but I never realized how much until I started looking into aliens. Everything that was a substantial lead led back to him. Found my mom. Found his secret bunker and I found your files,” Alex and stands “Can I get you anything to drink before we actually get started?” he asks looking at Michael inquisitively.

“Coffee? If you have it?” Michael says and Alex nods his head. Michael watches as Alex uses the side of the couch to help him up. He can hear a little strain slip through Alex's lips as he tries to stand on his own. “I...ugh, can help?” Michael adds scanning Alex up and down.

“No, it’s fine. Just stay put. I had physical therapy in the morning I'm just a bit sore,” Alex explains and makes his way to the kitchen. A few minutes later Alex is slowly walking back juggling two mugs filled to the brim. He slowly lowers the mug and Michael grabs it. Alex returns to the couch and gets comfortable. “So, my dad has been acting weird for a while so I started digging around on the internet. Many of the files were either classified, deleted, or heavily encrypted. Most of the unofficial documents talked about an Area 51 around Roswell which I knew wasn't true. But, I found bits and pieces of my a government program that was apparently run by my father.” 

“Program?” Michael chips in.

“I’ll get to that,” Alex looks at Michael with a string of annoyance. Michael puts up both hands and sits back. “I decided to follow my dad to see if anything that I found was true. I noticed he had two phones, one was his regular phone and the other was a burner. I tried to get my hands on one but it took me longer than I expected. When I finally fixed one of them and called the number my mom answered,” Alex says and Michael can tell he was deep in thought. “She was expecting my dad and once she realized it wasn’t him she hung up,” Alex said slowly putting his head down. Michael could see the shine reflecting back from Alex’s eyes knowing they were the formation of tears. Alex clears his throat and continues. “After that, I followed him to his base. I got access and hacked into its database.” 

“Your dad just let you into the base,” Michael said thinking about Jesse Manes actually including his son in his operation. 

“No, I kind of...I hit him with my crutch,” he pauses for a quick moment “in the face,” Alex smiles. Michael smiles as well knowing that this was huge for Alex. 

“Wow,” Michael said. “Are you okay?” 

“I hit my dad, Geurin and you’re asking if I’m ok?” Alex looks at him and it slowly stabs Michael in the chest. His breathing hitches for a moment and he prays that Alex doesn’t notice. 

“Well yeah, I just know how much pain your dad has caused you,” Michael says giving Alex a small, hopefully, reassuring smile. Michael could feel the heat around his face increase, he knew it had gotten red. 

“Thanks,” Alex says and Michael nods. “Well, after that I got into the base and tied him to a chair.” 

“Jesus,” Michael slips out and Alex gives him a look. “Sorry, continue,” Michael smiles to himself. 

“Well after that it was easy to crack into the base's systems. The technology was very old. I found what he had been working on, it’s called Project Shepard. Apparently, my great Grandfather started the program after the crash. I found the entire history and most of what the government had on aliens. Then found your file,” Alex says while looking at Michael. He tries to keep his face as steady as possible. The thought of his file, his information is in the government system freaked him out. “My father had marked it as terrorist threat level: red,” Michael gives up on maintaining his expressions. His face drops in shock, a terrorist, wow. I mean Michael was anti-government but not a terrorist. “Don’t worry, I deleted your file and Max and Isobel files too.” 

“Alex you shouldn’t have you get into--” Michael doesn’t get to finish

“The program was defunded eight years ago, any information collected since then is illegal and cannot be used in a court of law. He was using his power in the military to bully and monitor people in Roswell,” Alex says quickly as if he had rehearsed it. "Besides, I know that the three of you aren't terrorist. You may be a pain in the ass but not a terrorist.

“And here I was thinking you just cared for me,” Michael smiles and tries to laugh like he’s joking. 

“Geurin,” Alex whispers

“So, where did you learn to hack?” Michael asks trying to change the subject. 

“I went to school for coding. I wouldn’t be able to be a captain without a 4-year college degree. I tried to go for music so I wouldn’t that part of myself but it wasn’t an option,” Alex says “Enough about me, what about you? Yesterday you said you hadn’t told me everything?” Right, Michael remembers he gets to talk more about his personal life. Michael quickly looked at his phone to see the time, it was almost 2 PM, he had been here for three hours already. Just like early in the day, time felt like it was moving so fast. 

“Well, I told you yesterday that Isobel has blackouts,” he could see Alex nods, “it’s been happening again. She blacked out a few weeks back and ended up in the desert somehow. Liz found out that it was Isobel who killed Rosa and she starting making this serum that takes away our powers. Isobel was scared so she checked herself into the psychiatric ward of the hospital for what was supposed to 72 hours. But, she decided it would be a good idea to inject herself with Liz’s serum by Kyle’s hands.” 

“What do you mean ‘by Kyle’s hands?” Alex asks 

“Iz is an influencer, she influenced Kyle to inject her with the serum. The serum worked only for a few hours and then her cells started to deteriorate. She was coughing blood and turning pale. Max tried to heal her but it didn’t work. We ended up having to put her in her pod to keep her in cryo status until we can figure out a cure. It’s why Liz went to my bunker. We’ve been working together to try to figure out a cure, we’ve been getting closer,” Michael says

“Are you okay? I know it can be scary when a sibling is hurt,” Alex says 

“Yeah, I’m okay, thanks. I know Liz and I can figure it out,” Michael says "We have too." 

“You’re two of the smartest people I know if anyone is going to figure it out it will be the two of you,” Alex smiles “Thanks,” Michael says, “Liz was also the one who came up with a theory that there is a fourth alien in Roswell. One that has been murdering people since after Rosa’s death,” “Yeah, I put that together," Alex says and for some reason, Michael is shocked at how Alex put that together. "Is there anything else I should know?" Alex asks interrupting Michael's thoughts. 

“I don’t think so…What about you?” Michael asks looking at Alex. 

“Yeah, I can show you the base. There is also a bunker here but it doesn’t concern aliens but we can still check it out if you want too. But, before we do that we could make lunch?” 

“That sounds great!” Michael agrees without thinking for a second. He would take any excuse to spend more time with Alex. Michael follows Alex to the kitchen and stands quietly behind him as he starts to pull out different things from the fridge. 

“Is chicken and pasta okay? I have some alfredo, pesto, pasta sauce, or caesar dressing. Or I could make something else?” Alex looks at him nervously. 

“Chicken and pasta sounds great. I haven’t had a home cooked meal in a while,” Michael says “Can I help in any way?” Michael watches as Alex gets out a cutting board and pot for the pasta. 

“No, no, have a seat and I can take care of the rest. I have some beer if you want one?” Alex looks at him as he’s filling up the pot with water. He puts the pot on the stove and walks to the fridge and grabs a beer. 

“Sure, that would be great,” Michael says as Alex had already grabbed the beer from the fridge. He passes it to Michael and grabs the beer can opener. After he opens the beer, Michael pulls out a chair and takes a seat. He watches as Alex starts to cut the chicken and pour pasta into the pot. After about ten minutes, the chicken and pasta are ready and Michael has set the table. They both sit down and Michael puts alfredo on his pasta and chicken and takes a bite. “Wow, this is great!” Michael says after taking his first bite. 

“You don’t have to flatter me,” Alex says taking a few bites of the food and hides his smile behind his fork. 

“I mean it! It’s really good, I mean I eat food from a can or from town. This is actual food so it’s amazing!” Michael says smiling. 

“Thanks,” Alex says 

“Where did you learn to cook? Didn’t you have to eat rations?” Michael asks

“Haha, yeah while were deployed but not on base or during leave,” Alex laughs again, “I taught myself. I was sick of the shitty food they served us and the packaged food during deployment.” 

“Nice, what else can you make?” Michael says toying with his fork in his mouth. He sees Alex’s cheeks redden and his eyes start to shift. 

“Not much,” Alex laughs and Michael feels his stomach tightening. Michael loves the way Alex’s laugh echoes through the cabin; it’s cliche but it’s music to his ears. Michael also loves Alex’s smile, it’s rare and unique like a shooting star. Even as teenagers, Alex didn’t smile much because of his father but when he did Michael would feel all warm and gooey. “There was this one time I tried to make rice in a pressure cooker and it exploded. I got rice everywhere, I mean everywhere even my hair. Part of the ceiling collapsed, I broke the table and a few other appliances. I was banned from cooking in the base after that,” Alex smiles at the memory and finishes his food. He stands to put away his dish and clean up. 

“You cooked Alex, I can wash the dishes,” Michael says grabbing his own dishes to put them in the sink. 

“Don’t worry about it, I can do it later,” Alex says looking at Michael. 

“It’s no problem, really, I want too!” Michael insists he doesn’t just want to eat his food and leave.

“Fine,” Alex says playfully, “You wash and I’ll dry!” Michael nods in agreement and they start to fill the sink with water and soap. Once the sink is sufficiently full of water and bubbles, Michael starts to wash the dishes. Once he's done with one dish, he passes it off to Alex to dry. They fall into a quiet, steady rhythm and Michael gets lost for a moment thinking about how he could get used to this. Impulsively, Michael scoops a small bit of water in his hands and splashes Alex with it. 

“Hey!” Alex says sharply and splashes him back laughing. Michael feels like a kid again laughing or spilled water. After they are both soaked, Michael raises a figurative white flag so they can finish the dishes. They go back to standing side-by-side, listening to the soft sound of the water splashing. “Are you free tonight?” Alex asks looking at him intently.

“Yeah, all I have in my calendar is a stop at the Wild Pony,” Michael jokes

“Funny,” Alex gives him a look, “No, we could go to the base and I could show you project Shepard,” Alex says. 

“Fun, I would love to spend my night looking into a government conspiracy that is targeting my family,” Michael says sarcastically. Alex rolls his eyes and walks back to the living room. Michael can see that he grabs a small notebook and pen. He writes something down quickly, tears the page off and gives it Michael. 

“This is the location of the base, I can meet you there at 7 PM,” Alex says 

“Sure,” Michael agrees and puts the piece of paper in his back pocket. It’s a date he thinks and smiles to himself. After spending hours together, Michael decides it's best for him to check up on Max and Isobel. Once Michael leaves he starts to count the hours until he gets to see Alex again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully you lovely internet folk are enjoying the story during the drought! I hope to post the next chapter sometine this week!


	4. Nighttime Nonsense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex shows Michael the Project Shepard base and the files that he has on the 14 murder victims. At the end of their night, they take a drive into the desert.

Alex watches as Michael drives away from his cabin. He goes back to the kitchen to finish putting away the food and the dishes. After he’s done, Alex decides to do more physical therapy as he had nothing better to do; he only had to waste a few more hours until he could leave to go to the base. Alex goes outside to do lunges and also get more firewood for his fireplace. He does the lunges absentmindedly until he starts to feel sore in his thighs. He thinks he’s done about five or six sets, which isn’t bad considering he had physical therapy this morning. Alex could feel the sweat drip down his spine and behind his knee. He goes to check his phone, an hour and a half left to waste, time to get wood. Alex mentally laughed at his own joke and grabbed his jacket to go to the backyard and get firewood. Alex was glad that Jim had left the cabin to him when he had got back from Iraq as he had never had a place to call his own, every place had been claimed by dominance and ignorance. The only downside about this property was the size of the land. Going from the front yard to the backyard always took longer than expected. Alex finally makes his way to the backyard and towards a pile of large logs to start cutting them into smaller pieces. After about an hour, Alex finishes cutting logs and trekking them back to the cabin. Alex proceeds to shower and puts the clothes he was wearing back on as well as a jacket and heads out.

Alex pulls into the military base and sees the familiar tan truck already there and Michael leaning against the car with his black cowboy hat. He pulls up next to him and puts his own car in parks and hops out of the car. He walks over to Michael and can smell a small hint of whiskey and gasoline in the perfect combination. He decides to stand opposite of him leaning against his own car until they decide to go inside.

“Alex, long time no see,” Michael says smiling through his teeth. Alex shakes his head smiling somehow knowing Michael was going to make a stupid joke like that.  

“You’re here before me, I’m impressed,” he says putting his hands in his pocket and smiling knowing Michael was going to fight him on that.

“Just because I’m the town drunk doesn’t mean that I’m not respectable,” he says and tips his hat forward and brings his hand up to give his hat a tap.

“You’re just a walking, talking contradiction, Geurin,” he says  

“Soooo,” Michael drags the ‘o’ until he has had annoyed Alex enough, “are you going to show me your dad’s murder dungeon? Always wondered what Master Sergeant Manes would be into.”

“Ew, I’m going to pretend like you didn’t say that,” he says and stands for a few seconds trying to erase that mental image from his brain. He snaps out of it and looks at Michael, “let’s go,” he says and motions his head to the left. He walks about ten feet until he reaches the cellar doors and puts his palm down on the hand scanner. Once he hears the familiar clicking, he opens both doors and allows Michael to go in first as it will take just a little bit longer for him to make his way down. He slowly walks down the small steps and sees Michael waiting from him at the end of the stairs. He proceeds to lead them into the main room and turn the lights on. Alex stands at the edge of the table and watches as Michael starts to walk around inspecting everything he can get his hands onto.

“Well, well, well isn’t this….borning,” he says looking back at Alex which makes him chuckle. Alex quickly goes over to the cabinet by the computer and grabs the only folder contained in its bare cavity. He walks back to the table and starts to lay out the papers from within the folders.

“This is everything we have on the fourth alien. There are 14 victims, including Rosa and all their death certificates have been signed by a fake doctor that was created by Project Shepard. The project has been covering up the murders from the public since Rosa's death. I’ve been working with Shieff Cameron and Kyle to-”

“Kyle? Jock, bully, asshole Kyle?” Michael spits out from across the table.

“Yes, Kyle who’s changed in the past ten years just like all of us have,” he says calmly.

“You’re actually working with him?” Michael says. He sounds shocked at the prospect which confuses Alex because that’s exactly what they’re trying to do; maybe only a tad bit different.

“What so wrong? He’s trying to make amends and I can respect that. I’m still mad at him but at least he’s trying.”

“He’s an ass let’s just leave it at that,”  Michael says with an irritable tone. Alex feels a small tinge of shame and regret.

“Yeah, okay,” Alex says nodding his head, “well we’ve been working together to identify the fourth alien. Sheriff Cameron is keeping tabs at the sheriff’s stations while Kyle and Liz keep tabs at the hospital.”

“Got all your bases covered,” Michael says and walks to him until they’re face-to-face, “you know except the alien one,” he watches as Michael’s eyes drift down to his lips and then back to his eyes. “Don’t worry though, I can help you out,” he says and sits down on the table and smiles. Alex opens his lips to respond but doesn’t actually know what to say so he closes his mouth.

He takes a small step over so that they’re next to each and he starts to puts the papers he laid out on the table back into the manila folder. Once he collects everything, he walks back to the cabinet and places the folder back where he had grabbed it from. Alex walked back to the table and stopped when he was next to Michael. He decided to the right of him and put his hands under his knees.

“What do we do now?” he asks looking at Michael, “the longer we wait, the higher chance there is that some else is going to die.”

“I don’t know,” Michael says and Alex can hear how genuine he is.

“It’s funny,” Alex starts to say and looks away from Michael but he gets lost in his own thoughts.

“What’s funny?” Michael asks and turns to look at him.  

“I was trained for this exact kind of situation but right now all I can think of is you,” he says turning back to look at him. Alex can feel his heart beating loudly in his chest and the lump in his throat as he tries to swallow. “I’m sorry.”  

“For what?” Michael asks his voice soft and kind.

“I shouldn’t have said that,” he says quietly and looks down at his lap.

“I don’t mind,” Michael says. Alex can feel Michael studying him with his eyes.

“I know,” he says. It’s quiet for a few moments as both men sit on the table staring at the wall in front of them. “I’m-I'm sorry for what my dad did to your hand,” Alex breaks the silence, “I’m sorry that my family has hunted yours. I’m sorry I keep walking away,” he feels this rush of relief pass over himself.

“What your dad did, hey, look at me,” Alex hears Michael say and slowly turns his head to look at him but doesn’t meet his eye. “Alex,” Michael whispers and Alex looks up, “What your dad did, it wasn’t your fault.” Alex prides himself on his compartmentalization skills throughout the years. He has built a nice, comfortable wall in his brain which he can hide from the world. At this particular moment, Michael is taking a sledgehammer to his wall. He can feel the cracks spreading through his brain and into his entire system. Alex can feel the tears start to form around his eyes and escape down his cheek. “Don’t you ever think that,” Michael says “Hey, it’s not your fault,” he repeats, “say it.” Alex shakes his head, he can’t. It is his fault it’s all his fault. He can feel more tears slip down his face at an uncontrollable rate.

“I can’t,” he says shaking his head. He feels Michael’s hand on his back moving slowly up and down trying to soothe him. “It was my fault.” That day replays in his mind relentlessly every day of every week. It never stops.

“Alex, I need you to listen to me, I don’t blame you for what happened. I never have and I never will,” Michael keeps his right hand on his back moving up and down. Alex watches as Michael takes his left hand and places it gently on his knee. He feels Michael pull him closer. He slowly places his head on Michael’s shoulder. They sit there for a while listening to each other breathe.

Time had escaped from Alex, he was more relaxed than he had ever been in his entire life. He slowly lifts his head from Michael’s shoulder and wiped away his tears.

“It’s getting late, we should probably head out,” Alex broke the long silence between them.

“Okay,” Michael nodded his head and slowly stands up.

Alex leads the way back to their vehicles, but as he tried to get up the stairs he felt a sharp pain in the leg. No, he thought, no, no, no, no. Not in front of Michael, he didn’t want him to see him like this. Just a quick as he felt the pain, his knee gave way and he fell down the short steps out of the compound. He slipped down the steps and onto his good side. Why today?

“Whoa, Alex, are you alright?” he heard Michael say. He wished he was alright, god how he wished. Michael came and crouched next to him, his face filled with concern. “Let me help you,” Michael voiced and reached out a hand to help pull him up.

“It’s fine, really,” Alex said turning pink with embarrassment. He tries to get up on his own but Michael is too close him.

“I meant it,” Michael says more sternly and Alex grabs his hand. Michael helps Alex out of the compound with his arm around his shoulder. They start to pick up the pace and he can feel the ache creep up his leg.

“Sorry, can we slow down?” Alex asks as he feels the prosthetic chaff on his knee screaming to be heard.

“Yeah, whatever you need,” Michael says slowing down the pace. They finally make it to their cars and Michael gently leans Alex against his truck. He feels like he can take a deep breath. He opens his door and takes a seat while Michael leans against his own truck that is across from him.

“Thanks,” Alex says looking at Michael.

“Anytime,” Michael says kindly, “do you want to talk about it?

“No,” Alex says wistfully.

“Okay,” Michael says looking down at his feet.

“But I will. Only because it’s you,” Alex says looking at Michael, “But not tonight.” They sit in their silence for only a few moments. “Do you want to go for a drive?” Alex asks not wanting to put an end to the night. He sees Michael’s face light up like the night sky and a smile wash across his face.

“It’s usually me who asks that?” Michael says reverting back to his playful demeanor.

“I know,” Alex smirks and stands from his seat and closes his door. He watches Michael basically run to the other side of his truck, hop into the driver's seat and look at Alex with his puppy dog eyes. Alex smiles and gets into the passenger seat.

“Alright, where to Mr. Manes?” Michael asks looking at him and he rolls his eyes.

“Anywhere but here,” Alex says looking at Michael with a soft smile on his face. They leave the base and set out into the open road. Alex has no idea where they’re going but he doesn’t care. He has the window rolled down, his hand out the window, and the radio lightly playing. He glances from the road to Geurin and back to the road. After about an hour Michael pulls off the main road and stops the car. Alex looks at him about to question why they stopped but Michael answers his question.

“It’s a perfect night to look at the stars,” Michael says and gets out of the truck. Alex watches as Michael walks back to the end of the truck and pulls the tailgate down. He too walks around to where Michael is now sitting on the back of the truck. Alex decides to lay on the metallic bed looking up at the night sky. A few seconds later, Michael also lays down.

“Do you see that star constellation,” Alex says pointing up at the sky doing his best to point out the constellation. He sees Michael trying to find the right constellation, “It’s called Cygnus, it’s my favorite star,” he says and turns to look at Michael but he looks so confused, “It’s the one that looks like an eagle,” Alex says still looking at Michael.

“Oh, I see it,” Michael says happily. Alex can see the way Michael’s eyes admire the sky, yearning to go home. Alex could look at Michael all night; he used to picture him, seventeen-year-old Michael when he was in Iraq. He clung onto him for dear life.

“It reminds me of you,” he says looking back at the star. Alex can feel Michael stiffen next to him not knowing if he said the wrong thing.

“Why did you go?”

“Guerin, please I really don’t want to talk about this.”

“Tough, I do. I let you walk away that first time but not again. I thought you were the one that said ‘let’s be friends, Michaels,’ ‘lets starts over, Michael.’ So talk,” Michael says sitting up.

“That’s not exactly what I said _Michael_ ,” Alex says following Michael and sits ups as well.

“Close enough but you still didn’t answer my question, why did you go?”

“To serve my country,” Alex says the first thing he can think of.

“Bullshit, you were going to pursue music and then you were gone,”

“Yeah, I was,” he says, “What happened to you going to UNM,” Alex says knowing that would Michael would not take it lightly. Immediately Michael stands in defense looking at Alex with anger.

“You know why I didn’t go to UNM.”

“Yeah, you stayed to protect Isobel but did you ever think she didn’t need your protection?”

“That’s none of your business,” Michael says. Alex can see the shine coming from Michael’s eyes even in the dark. He feels bad for bringing it up but he didn’t want to talk about why he enlisted.

“I know. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. I--”

“You were what? Trying to change the subject? So, Manes, why did you go?” Michael says and Alex decides to stand at this point. “Why can’t you just answer me?” Michael asks and he turns away. “Right, do what you do best, walk away.” Alex stops dead in his tracks and turns around. He is breathing very heavily and is close to tears.

“Guerin, don’t.”

“Don’t? Tell me Alex or forget this,” Michael says pointing between them.

“Why do you want to know so badly?”

“Why can’t you just tell me?”

“I went to protect you,” Alex says sharply putting one of his hands on his forehead.

“Protect me?” Michael asks with a cynical tone.

“Yes. Alright, yes. I went so my dad wouldn’t hurt you,” he says and sits back down on the tailgate. “My dad said either I enlist in air force like every other Mane’s man or he would find new ways to hurt you.” Michael was quiet. He watched as he slowly walked back to the tailgate and sat down next to Alex. “I couldn’t let him hurt you again. He had already taken so much from you, from us. It was an easy decision.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Michael’s entire demeanor changed. His shoulders are slouched, his face lightened, and his breathing slowed.

“I couldn’t bring myself to tell you,” he says taking time to look at Michael. They were closer now and Alex could see the tear stains on Michael’s cheek.

“Well I know now,” Michael says slowly getting closer. He can see the shadow of Michael’s hand slowly rise toward his hand. He feels Michael’s fingers brush away the small tears Alex didn’t know had developed. Michael’s hand lightly rests on his cheek. The heat from Michael’s face approaches his own.

“We can’t,” Alex whispers but Michael doesn’t move.

“Why not?” Michael whispers back in kind. He has a flicker of youth.

“I don’t know,” Alex looks away from Michael’s eye down to his lips. He knows if they start he wouldn’t be able to stop, “We’re trying to be friends.”

“We are friends but that doesn’t mean we can’t be more,” Michael says in a gentle, reassuring voice. “Don't overthink it.” Alex decides to let his heart lead and follows Michael’s lead. He hesitantly places his right hand on Michael’s cheek and the other on his waist. Their foreheads touch and Alex closes his eyes and matches his breathing with Michael’s. Michael tilts his head and lightly places his lips on his own. It was soft and needy. Michael’s lips were always surprisingly soft.

What started out as a soft, kind kiss turned into something more desperate. Alex had a hard time catching his breath between their kisses. Alex starts to lean back and takes Michael with him. They kissed long into the night until they both ended up asleep.

* * *

Alex wakes up first, early in the morning on Michael’s chest and his arm around his shoulder. He can see Michael’s breath every time he exhales as the cold percolates through his body. He listens to his heartbeat as he sleeps deciding whether or not to wake him. He decided he wants attention, so he gently places his hands at the end of Michael’s t-shirt and quickly puts his hand under it to touch his stomach. He traces the middle line of Michael’s stomach making sure Michael could feel the cold as he worked his way up his body.

“Mhmm, you’re hands are freezing,” Michael mumbles still half asleep. He places small kisses on Michael’s shirt all the way to his neck. He presses a kiss under Michael’s ear and then moves to his jaw. “Having fun there?” Alex smiles and kisses his temple and his nose and his cheek. He deliberately chooses not to kiss his lips just to tease Michael. He passes his lips over Michael's and watches as he tries to kiss him but doesn’t let him. He moves back down to his jaw and places a light kiss there. Alex plays a little bit more with Michael's chest until Michael is more awake. 

“Good morning,” Alex smirks and kisses Michael’s head. Like last night, Michael rubs his back but unlike last night Michael tries to kiss him. Alex smiles and trails his finger along Michael’s lips. Before Alex could move, Michael snatches his lips with his own. This kiss was fast, sloppy and greedy. Michael started to laugh as he releases their lips.

“Now it’s a good morning,” Michael whispers and Alex leans down to slowly kiss him.

“Not that I don’t like this,” Alex starts “but, I really would like to brush my teeth and change.”

“I agree.”

“If we are going to do this we have to do it right which means being honest and communicating,” he starts to say

“Ok, I thought-”

“Let me finish. There’s one last thing I need to show you back at my cabin and then that’s everything,” Alex says to which Michael nods his head. Michael and Alex shuffle into the truck and go back to the base to get Alex’s car. “Where the hell did you take us yesterday?” Alex looks at Michael and he just smiles.

“Don’t worry, we’re not lost. Don’t you trust me?”

“I trust you,” Alex smiles and looks back at the open road. About halfway to the base, Michael tries to sneakily place his hand on Alex’s thigh but failed miserably. Alex doesn’t protest to it he likes these soft domestic moments in his life. They reach the base and Alex’s car is still parked in front of the base. He quickly hopes out of Michael’s truck and into his own.

Alex takes the lead to his cabin and tries to keep his mind of the piece of the spaceship that he has. He doesn’t want Michael to get angry at him and walk away. Alex doesn’t realize at the time but he was driving very fast as he wasn’t really paying attention to the road. When he made back to his cabin he looked in his rear view mirror but Michael’s truck wasn’t there. He jumped out of the truck and started to walk to his porch when he heard Michael drive up. He turns around and watches Michael as he puts the car into park and walks out.

“Manes, why were you driving so fast?” Michael skids up to him.

“Was I?” Alex asks trying to calculate how long it took him to get to the cabin from the base. “Huh.” He continues to walk forward to the door and opens it to let Michael in first. He goes into his room and grabs his backpack, he slowly brings it back out into the living room where he finds Michael sitting on the couch. “Before I show you, please don’t be mad at me. I was being a coward,” he says before grabbing the piece of the spaceship from his bag. It reacts to his touch and glows under his fingers. He hands it to Michael, whos mouth had dropped.

“Wher-Where did you find this?”

“Here, in the cabin. I found it in the bunker below us in the wall. I kept it for so long because I didn’t want you to leave, you know, the planet.”

“Wow, Alex.”

“Wait, before you say anything. I’m sorry that I didn’t give it to you earlier I know it was wrong and selfish of me to keep it,” he says quickly.

“I-I-uh,” Michael starts to stay but doesn’t finish. He stands up and walks over to Alex until he is standing in front of him. Alex starts to talk again.

“I understand if you’re angry and if you need sometime to think,” but before he could finish his sentence Michael was kissing him. “What are you doing?”

“You hid this from me so I couldn’t leave, that’s sweet Manes,” Michael says “Not that I’m not angry but it’s cute.” Alex was blushing and he knew it. “Sooo, what do you say we hop in the shower?” If Alex wasn’t blushing before, he was blushing now. 

"Just this one time, I really do want to take to this slow. I want to experience every little thing with you and really make this work," Alex says and leads the way to his bathroom. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo, I hope everyone is well! I hope you're enjoying the story as it goes along! Please comment below!


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